The first Chakai

I have written many posts about the construction of the Tea-room. This saturday I held the very first chakai in my new room. In advance of that I had to make a new door, again! Still it is some way off perfect, but it works (somewhat).

Seven guests came to have Tea. I divided them into two
Second group of guests

“seki” orseatings.With four in the first and three in the second. I served thin Tea, using a Tabidansu. For expedience I had a extraTea-bowls hidden in the tabidansu. That way I could start preparing the Tea for the next guest as the first guest was drinking and looking at the bowl. It worked out nicely.

In the tokonoma I had a simple flower arrangement. I wanted it to have autumn colors, but that was hard to come by. As the leaves hasn’t started changing color, and the flower shop was all about pink and white.

One thing that I became aware of was that it was a bit too dark. I should at least have a light window lower in the tokonoma wall so that the flower are illuminated. So that might be my winter project. I might do with a bit more light overall.

Along with the flower I hang my favourit scroll, Kansashite-shofu-o-kiku. Sitting quietly

Chabana from the chakai

listening to the wind in the pines. I love this saying, as it so fully capture what Tea means for me.

For sweets I had made koshi-an and wrapped it in a steamed dough. One of the guests fiance had thought my wife to make that dough for a Philippine dish called sipao, which reminded me a lot of the Japanese “man”. So I though it a nice sweet, but it became a bit larger than anticipated.